A Sentinel's Awakening
by BlackFalcon269
Summary: When I woke up in the middle of a field, I didn't expect to be thrown into the beginning of the war between Ylisse and Plegia, even less to throw my lot in with the Sheperds. But now I'm here, might as well have some fun, right? Main pairing OCxLissa, other pairing included. Rated T for possible graphic content, adult humour and language.
1. One of Those Days

**Okay here we go, I'm officially back on the site after a way too long hiatus. If anyone's interested in my old stories, I'll probably get round to them in time. For now though, I want to concentrate on new ideas, starting with a fanfic of my favourite new videogame: Fire Emblem Awakening. Had this idea for ages, and just want to get it done.**

**So without any further ado, BlackFalcon269 presents…**

**A Sentinel's Awakening!**

**Chapter 1: One of Those Days…**

* * *

You ever wake up and know it's going to be a long day? Like, you really get the feeling that things will be heading downhill pretty quickly? Yeah that's pretty much how my day has been. Which isn't surprising if you put yourself in my position.

Okay, a little back story first: I'm a born and bred gamer, and I've spent most of my life gaming. I recently bought a 3DS in order to play the new _Pokemon X_ and _Y_, which was a great advance to the series, but I digress. After I finished that, I was looking for something to take my interest, and managed to find a copy of _Fire Emblem: Awakening _second-hand. I started it up and I was instantly hooked. I've been playing the game non-stop ever since I got it, some might say to an unhealthy degree. Anyway, I'd been out on the town with my mates and I was pretty out of it when I finally staggered in the door. All I could remember was playing a little _Awakening_ before crashing face first onto my couch. What happened next, was something I still can't explain…

**The morning after... **

I moan as consciousness begins to fade back into my mind, bringing with it a splitting headache. I keep my eyes closed as my hands come either side of my head, attempting to push myself up from the couch. It's then that I notice the couch seems to be a lot damper than usual, as well as a lot harder, and a lot greener. It takes me a few minutes to realize I'm face down in the grass

"_That's weird, I could have sworn I got home last night. Ugh, if this is Joey's idea of a joke, I am going to kill him."_

I roll over and force myself into a sitting position. It is then that I notice two things. Firstly I notice that I have at some point in the night acquired a new and peculiar wardrobe. Instead of my usual shirt and jeans combo, I'm decked out in some kind of tunic, silvery grey with a red trim, and black trousers with leather boots. I'm also wearing a crude set of leather armour, including a breastplate, pauldrons, greaves and fingerless gauntlets. Secondly and more importantly, I notice that I am nowhere near my apartment.

In fact, I can't see a building for about half a mile.

"_Well this should be interesting"_

I brush some stray hair out of my eyes. My hair has always been a rather shaggy mess of dark brown, but I don't remember it ever being this long. Fishing in my pockets, I find a red piece of cloth and tie it back into a short pony-tail. I also find a pouch stuffed with pieces of gold. I'm starting to think this might not be too a bad a situation. I finally pull myself to my feet, and try to take stock of my situation.

"Okay, I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere in some weird getup, and I have no idea what to do. Might as well find civilization."

I take a look around and see one more thing that catches my eye; a long staff of dark wood, lying a few feet away. I walk over and pick it up. The weight feels good in my hand, not so heavy that it's cumbersome, but heavy enough to do damage if needed. At least I knew I had protection, as well as a helpful tool for a lot of situations. You see as well as gaming, I'm also interested in combat, especially for stage and screen. As such I had taken multiple courses in both stage combat and basic martial arts, including a course in the use of quarterstaff. A lot of people brush it off as a sloppy and slow weapon, that's only ever used by people doing Robin Hood movies, but it's actually a much more refined weapon than people give it credit for.

Taking the staff in hand, I begin the walk to the buildings I can see in the distance. It doesn't take too long to reach it, but I can instantly tell something is off. The buildings are very, well, primitive, so to speak. Not a sign of brick or pavement, just wooden houses and cobbled streets. Old styled market stalls line the street, a lone horse drags a carriage in next to a larger building, what looks like an inn. If I didn't know any better, I'd say I landed in a completely different timezone. I walk over to the inn and stagger through the door. The people are suitably surprised but still welcome me in with hospitality. I use my gold to buy some food and a strong ale which takes me a couple of minutes to get used to. I eat as much as I feel like before calling on the serving girl, who's also dressed in medieval style dress, including a dangerously low cut top which threatens to overflow herself into my face. I wouldn't complain if it did, but other people might.

"Excuse me miss, but where exactly am I? I'm not quite sure"

"Oh, well you're in Southtown sir."

"_Southtown? Why does that sound familiar?"_

"Help! Bandits! They're attacking the village!"

Instantly I'm fully woken by those words. I'm in a village called Southtown, that's styled like medieval times, being attacked by bandits…

"_It's official, I've gone crazy from some kind of weird drug and booze combination, and I'm hallucinating that I'm in Fire Emblem."_

And as it would happen, people look to me for help just because I'm new.

"Sir you must help us! Please drive out these bandits! We can pay you if you prefer, just please help us!"

So now I'm left in a bit of a pickle. I can try to help these people, and maybe become a hero in the process. Problem is, I don't really want to **BE** a hero; I just want to get home. Plus Chrom and the others should show up soon enough anyway. But I can't just sit here. For one thing, it's the quickest way for me to get killed. So I simply nod, not really sure if I should say something and stand, grabbing my staff. I'm offered a sword from nearby, but I pass it off, though I'm not sure why. I guess I didn't want to be stuck with such an obvious weapon, or maybe I subconsciously knew that I was better skilled at something else.

I come out to chaos. People are running away from the church, which has caught fire. Many bodies already lie on the streets. I feel bile rising in the back of my throat and quickly swallow it back down, this is no time for weakness. I see a young woman trip just down the street, falling to the ground. She gets on her hands and knees, scrambling away from the approaching barbarian. He's taking his time, obviously confident in his ability to kill unarmed defenceless innocents. The sadistic grin on his face just makes my blood boil. I'm moving before I even realise what's I'm doing.

"No please, have mercy!" she screams, unable to conceal her terror.

"Sorry sheepie luv, but mercy is something I've just ran out of." He sneers, raising the axe. She screams, but the blow never comes. Before I even think I've taken my staff and brought it up, blocking the axe underneath its head. The bandit is more shocked than the woman, his face satisfyingly confused.

"That's funny, I could say the same to you." I say as step forward and push, forcing the brute back a few steps, giving the woman time to scramble to her feet and run. I fall into some kind of basic stance, holding the staff equally distanced between my hands, horizontal to my body. The big lug roars and charges, obviously angered by losing his easy kill. He swings vertically, and I step to the side. His swings are wild and erratic, betraying his lacklustre training, and are easy to dodge. Though how I'm dodging them I've no idea. I've been in a few fights in my life, but I've never been a nimble fighter, and I've certainly never had a lunatic swinging an axe at my neck. I take a step back as another swing hits air, and the fool stumbles, having overstepped and lost balance. I see my chance and take it. Bringing my left hand back, I swing the end of my staff over my shoulder and drive it down, connecting cleanly on the top of his head.

Another thing that a lot of people say about the staff is that it isn't an effective weapon, and is unable to kill or seriously injure people. However, those people never seem to think of one thing; except for maybe a big rock, a big stick would have been the first weapon that prehistoric men used to kill either food or each other. A big stick was most likely the first ever murder weapon. Also even with the advent of metal and swords and axes and spears, clubs and hammers and other blunt weapons still persevered as useful and dependable tools of death, and staffs wielded in the right way are just as good.

The immediate crunch I hear on impact lets me know I've crushed his skull. He crumples forward, face down in the dirt. I know he's dead, and the fact of that starts to sink in as I stagger back. I just killed someone, without even thinking about it, like it was almost second nature. However, before I can really start thinking it through, I notice more bandits approaching. Taking my staff in my hands I prepare for a real fight.

I see two myrmidons approaching, what looks like a mage skulking in behind them. The first myrmidon swung his sword in going for my right side. I barely had time to move my staff to the side and block it before his friend is swinging downwards for my neck. I duck a little as I bring the staff up, the sword almost embedding itself in my staff. I kick him in the stomach to force him away, while the first myrmidon is charging back in. I step forward and power my staff forward, catching him in the gut midswing. I don't know how many ribs I've broken, but it should put him out of commission at least.

The second myrmidon is attacking my head again. This time I block a little easier, and notice he's left his legs open. I know my next move is a terrible manoeuvre and one I wouldn't wish on anyone usually, but right now, I was just willing to do anything to survive. I pull my right shoulder back, throwing his sword to the side, before I snap my staff up in between his legs with ruthless speed. His expression is almost comical, though I feel sorry for him as I step past, putting him out of his misery with a quick strike to the back of the neck.

Suddenly, I feel a searing hot pain shoot up my leg. I cry out and collapse to one knee. Looking down, I see that the mage was waiting for his chance while I fought his friends. His fire magic was a direct hit, and my leg now looked pretty badly burned. I looked up to see him preparing another spell. I knew this one was probably aimed for my head, and I knew I needed to get closer to attack.

Trying to forget the pain in my leg, I break into a run, charging at the mage, who frantically scrambles to fire of his next spell. His aim is off and I dodge the fireball as it rips past my shoulder, feeling the heat on my face. I waste no time, sweeping my staff into his right leg as I stop. The sudden sharp shot dislocates his knee, and I follow up with a diagonal strike downwards, catching him on his jaw. His head snaps violently to the side and he crumples at my feet. The danger is, for now, averted.

Quickly however, the adrenaline wears off, and the pain in my leg flares back up immensely, I drop to my knee, and this time I cannot stand. I hear the clatter of feet, surely more bandits approaching. I feel a shadow over me and look up; another barbarian. He doesn't say anything, just raises his axe. I look down and prepare for the inevitable. My senses start to fog as a sudden tiredness sets in. Almost muffled in my ears, I barely hear the approaching hooves storming up behind me.

_Wait, hooves?_

As I look up the barbarian is almost lifted up the ground as the armoured horse shoots by me, a long lance tearing its way through his chest. He flies back and lands a few feet back, not moving. The sun glints off the horses armour, blinding me from seeing my saviour's face, but I know already who it is. I glance up to see another bandit rushing the horseman. As I'm about to shout a warning, a bolt of lightning shoots past us both and strikes the bandit, bringing him to his knees as he dies. Finally, I'm pulled up by someone on my right, my arm hoisted over their shoulder.

"You alright?" I hear him ask, the voice instantly recognisable. I look over to see the blue hair, notice the legendary blade Falchion in his other hand. Chrom. He finally made it.

"My leg." I grimace, looking down. He looks too and nods.

"Robin, keep us covered while I take him to Lissa" He orders the figure to my left. I look over to notice that it is indeed Robin, the male version, in his default design. He nods and resumes firing off his Thunder tome as I limp back with Chrom's help.

We find Lissa nearby, healing a wounded villager. Chrom calls her over and she rushes to us. I see her appraising me she arrives. I obviously don't look like another villager. I tell her about my leg, and she sets to work quickly, the glow of her staff casting my leg in an odd greenish colour. The feeling isn't painful so to speak, more uncomfortable. The feeling of burnt skin returning to its normal state is a little disturbing, but afterwards there's no evidence I was even hit, save for the singed hole in my trousers which I remind myself to try and fix later. I thank Lissa quickly before rushing back into the fray, not wanting to leave the others without help.

With everyone else here it didn't take too long for the rest of us to take down the bandits. After doing one last check of the area we met back up in the central square.

"Well sir, I must thank you." Chrom says amicably. "You seemed to have done a fine job holding off these scoundrels before we arrived."

"I just did what anyone else would." I say simply, shrugging. I've never been too hungry for praise, and I thought that was a simple fact.

"Commendable, if a little optimistic." The armoured giant Frederick replies. He seems just as stern and quiet as in the game. I have a feeling I should try to stay on his good side. "You'll find thinking like that rare these days I'm afraid."

"Oh lighten up Frederick." Lissa says, bouncing on her heels slightly. "I'm just happy we had some more help."

"Indeed, the more help the better." Robin said thoughtfully, looking me up and down. I feel a bit uneasy, but shake it off and look back to Chrom.

"Hmm, you may have a point Robin." He agreed. "What's your name, traveller?" He asked. It struck me that I had indeed not indulged my name yet. I didn't know if I should give my real name or not, but it's not like that would affect the narrative of the game that much I decided.

"My name is Kieran, sir, and I am most grateful for the help. If not for you, I am not sure I'd still be breathing"

"And if it weren't for you, many of these villagers would not be too." Chrom replied. "You have both their thanks and mine. My name is Chrom. This is my sister Lissa, my deputy Frederick and our newest recruit, Robin" I nod to them each in turn. Frederick and Robin simply return the nod, but Lissa waves happily, making me smile a little. "Kieran, I see you are a capable warrior, and that you wish to protect those unable to protect themselves. Therefore I would ask that you join our group. We're willing to take any man we can find, so what do you say?"

It's a no brainer really; either walk around this world with no idea what to do with myself, and risk dying, or join up with the Sheperds and embark on a journey to save the world. I still risk dying, but at least I'll know what I'm doing.

"Chrom, I would be glad to join you, and help in any way I can." I reply, holding out my hand. Chrom smiles and shakes my hand. As the rest of the group goes through their dialogue about camping out in the woods I remain silent. I'm pretty sure I won't be able alter the main course of the story, so I let my own thoughts wonder. So I'm now stuck in the world of one of my favourite games, joining up with a group of warriors, and I'm soon gonna be killing zombies and fighting in a war to save the world. And that first zombie attack is scheduled to happen a few hours from now.

"_Ungh, it's gonna be a long day…"_

**And there we go with the end of Chapter 1. Have any questions? Spot any spelling errors or mistakes? Just want to give an opinion? Leave a review and I'll get back to you in the next chapter.**

**This is BlackFalcon269, signing off**


	2. A Forest Stroll - Kind Of

**Okay, So I've had chapter two of this story stuck on 2 different computers for about 2 years now as I jump between life and writing.I'm now about a third of the way through chapter 3, so I thought I might as well get this up here for all 0 people who still care abotu this story.**

**So, without any furthr ado, BlackFalcon269 presents...**

**A Sentinel's Awakening!**

**Chapter 2: A Forest Stroll... kind of...**

* * *

One of the advantages to specializing in staff is that not only is it an effective weapon, but's it's also great for long-distance walks. In our march along the road to Ylisstol I had feared my stamina would be flagging compared to trained soldiers like Chrom and Frederick. Then again, Frederick has his horse, so he had even less to worry about. Come to think of it, why was his horse never in any cut scenes? It just always materialised underneath him when battle started. I figure asking questions too metaphysical might draw suspicion, however, so I decide to drop it. We don't talk much during the walk, leaving me time to take in the scenery. A few hours after we leave Southtown we come across the forest clearing that I recognise from the cut scene. I stop alongside Chrom and Frederick along with the other two members of our group behind us. Robin seems okay, not surprising given his past, which at that moment was only known by me out of our current group. Lissa however, is breathing heavy and sweating from the walk. I guess she really didn't get out much before this.

"I told you," She whines. "It's getting dark already" She absentmindedly swats at a fly, her complaints fading out as I scan the air around her, already sure of what's coming next. Sure enough I spot the bug as it lazily circles through the air, just about to take a sharp turn into her open mouth. Instinctively my hand shoots out and snatches the flying nuisance inches from her face. This naturally draws a few stares from the assembled crowd.

"What?" I ask nonchalantly, letting the bug go in the opposite direction of Lissa's mouth. "They're called reflexes. Besides, she has enough to complain about without eating insects." I notice a little scowl from Lissa, but shrug it off.

"Aw come on now Lissa, hardship builds character." Chrom says, trying to cheer her up. "Want to help me gather firewood?" he asks. Because I guess in his mind the only way to cheer up a tired girl is to offer her manual labour.

"I'll pass on finding firewood, I think I've built quite enough character today." She says decidedly. We all agree on finding food and Chrom, Frederick and Robin head off to hunt in the woods. Seeing as my staff won't help out as much as their swords and magic will against wild beasts, I resolve to stay behind with Lissa and ready the clearing. I start organising a fire pit, trying my best to remember what my dad had taught me the few time we had gone camping. I set a ring of stones in the centre and begin to check for any sizable branches that are fallen or low hanging to use. However, the entire time I felt a certain pair of eyes on the back of my head

"You know if you want to say something, just say it." I say, turning towards Lissa. She still had that same frown from earlier. From what I can remember of her support conversations I can guess what's coming.

"You don't have to save me from low-flying insects you know. I can take care of myself" She says, trying to sound all haughty, but honestly it just comes across as loveably childish, especially with the little pout she put on her face.

"Well if that was true you'd be trained with a weapon to defend yourself." I say matter of factly. "Since you're a cleric that would lead you to either axes in the War Cleric Line, or using magic as a Sage. Until then, if we run up against anything bigger than an insect, you're our only healer, so yeah you do need protecting."

"No, I don't; I'll have you know I don't need a weapon. I have this." Lissa says, confidently displaying her staff. "If you can defend yourself with just a staff, than I shouldn't have a problem." I quirk my eyebrow at her disjointed logic.

"You might be overlooking a few points there Lissa." I say. "For one thing, my staff is a simple straight staff, meaning it's perfectly balanced in order to provide speed and power from either end. Your healing staff on the other hand has that healing crystal and all that metal decoration, meaning it's weighted to one side and can't be used as effectively. Secondly, if you go swinging that thing around like a weapon, there's a good chance you'll just break the crystal, meaning we'll lose all healing method besides vulneraries. Thirdly, this kind of training takes years of practice with a method that, from what I've seen on my travels, isn't even taught in Ylisse, so…

"Okay I get it!" She nearly yells, interrupting my short speech. "Whatever. Think what you may, Kieran, but I am not some fragile little girl who needs protecting all the time!"

"No, you're the princess of Ylisse and the only healer we have at the moment, so it doesn't matter if you NEED protection or not, you're going to get it!" I say firmly. That shuts her up quickly, and she quickly fixes me with a confused look. It occurs to me that neither she nor Chrom have revealed that information yet, so I quickly attempt to think of an excuse.

"How do you know I'm…?"

"I may be new to the group but I'm certainly not blind, your brother has the brand of the Exalt on his arm, it's clear as day for anyone to see."

She can't argue with that logic, so she opts for pouting and turning away. She crosses her arms and mumbles to herself. I return to my original task; I'll talk to her later if I need to.

Bear meat is… interesting, to put it mildly. The taste is a lot like beef or venison, but it's a lot tougher, and takes a lot of chewing to get down. I eat mine slowly as we sit around the campfire, staring into the fire. As expected, Lissa and Frederick are barely touching theirs while Chrom and Robin are heartily tucking in. I keep mostly quiet as they talk; I figure the less I interfere in the conversation, the less chance I have of changing the possible timeline of the game.

"Something wrong Kieran? You seem pensive." So much for keeping out of the conversation. I turn to Chrom, thinking my answer through carefully.

"Just thinking about home." I reply simply. It's a half-truth really. I've been wondering if my family have realised that I've vanished or if this universe moves differently through time and barely a second has passed in my world, though thinking like that is kind of hurting my head.

"Where is your home? You don't strike me as being from Ylisse?" Obviously Frederick is still trying to find out if I can be trusted or not. Luckily I've played the game so much I know most of the geography, so I can make up something basic.

"You're right Frederick." I reply. "I'm originally from the west, the continent of Valm."

"Continent? I thought Valm was a country?" Lissa asks. Robin remains silent, obviously having heard the name for the first time in his current state.

"They share the same name." I reply. "In fact, I'm sure not many people would know Valm if it didn't share names, it's a very small country. Anyway, I grew up in a small village in northern Rosanne. When I turned eighteen I left home to find my way in the world. I've been wandering ever since." I decide to leave it at that; the less details I give, the easier it will be to maintain my story.

"Wow, how long ago was that?" Lissa asks.

"About three or four years ago." I reply. They don't ask any other questions, and the conversation moves onto other topics.

The night is still around me. The leaves rustle slightly in the wind, an occasional owl hoots. Overall it's relatively peaceful; and yet I can't sleep. I guess that isn't surprising since I know what's about to happen. Chrom and Lissa had already walked off about 5 minutes ago, and I've been silently debating whether to follow them or not. Eventually I decide to get it over with so I can get as close to the action as possible when it starts. Robin and Frederick are sound asleep, but I move as quietly as I can just in case.

Slipping through the trees, it isn't hard to find the pair as they walk slowly. Chrom is on high alert, so I hang back, hiding behind a few trunks here and there. They seem to be talking, but it's too hard to make out from my distance away. Lissa seems to be animatedly talking while Chrom listens more than he replies. It goes on like this for about five more minutes before they stop, looking around in confusion. It suddenly hits me that I should probably get nearer them before…

BOOM

"_Crap_!" is all I can think to myself as the earth begins to shake and raise under my feet, trees beginning to fall around as they are torn up by their roots. I break into a sprint towards where the other two are, leaping down from the high ledge. I roll away quickly, just before the large burst of lava erupts from the ground, blasting me with an intense wave of heat. I pick myself up, continuing to sprint after the others as fireballs rain down around us. I manage to avoid as much as I can before I finally reach a safe spot

"Chrom what IS that?"

Lissa's outburst reminds that it's probably not such a safe spot after all. I look up to see her and Chrom a few feet away, staring up at the familiar blue portal in the sky. As expected, a few Risen drop through and attack. I watch in awe as Chrom battles fiercely with the first, finishing it quickly. I knew he could handle it of course, but it seems like I'm forgetting something.

"AAAAHHHH!"

The scream quickly makes me remember. I turn to see Lissa backed up against a rock, the second Risen bearing down on her. Forget whether it's a cutscene or not, I need to help her. Breaking out from the undergrowth, I'm already half way towards her by the time Chrom begins his run.

"Lissa, move!" I shout. As the Risen raises its axe I drop my shoulder and hit it in the stomach, tackling it to the ground. I sit up and pull back my arm, delivering a strong right hook to the creatures jaw.

It shows no reaction whatsoever, and the shooting pain in my fist doesn't help matters.

"_I probably should have seen that coming."_ I thought to myself as the Risen's unnatural strength throws me off it and to the ground. I suddenly regret leaving my staff with Frederick and Robin in order to move more quickly through the woods. I see the axe raised above my head, but the sound of feet rushing forward meant I didn't have to worry much.

_CLANG!_

Obviously Lucina must have changed her trajectory in order to help me out instead of Lissa. She's blocked the blow with her sword and quickly dispatches the beast. I accept her offered arm and pull myself up.

"Thanks." I say awkwardly, looking at the masked face. It's weird when you're looking at the face of someone pretending to be a man when you already know they're a woman. She nods simply as Chrom and Lissa approach.

"Quite an entrance." Chrom says.

"Well, it wasn't flashy or anything but I try my best." I reply, flashing a grin. There's an audible sigh behind me, though whether Lissa is relived or exasperated I'm not sure. Frederick and Robin quickly arrive on the scene afterwards.

"Are such creatures horrific creatures commonplace in these lands?" Robin asks as he instinctively reaches for his sword and tome. Chrom reassures him they aren't local.

"No-one is injured then?" Frederick asks. Besides a possible fracture in my hand, I've nothing to complain about, so I stay silent. "Thank the gods…"

"Thank the masked man who saved us!" Lissa shouts from behind me. "If it wasn't for him we'd be… Hey where did he go?"

"I was there too you know…" I said gruffly. I can't lie, it's a little off-putting when you save a girl and she doesn't even notice you.

"We can worry about him after we put these… things… to the blade." Frederick says as he gallops his horse forward. He throws my staff to me as he passes, and I catch it with practiced ease. I notice the nearby Risen surging forward with significant numbers.

_"We must be on Hard, maybe Lunatic Mode"_ I think to myself. _"And if anything goes wrong, I'm willing to bet it'll be like Classic Mode."_ I move to block a sword swinging in at my side, pushing the zombie aside and swing my staff down to its head. However, like with the previous beast, the blow to the skull barely fazes it. It seems that Risen may only be seriously damaged by actual bladed weapons, which leaves me in a bit of a vulnerable position when it comes to surviving. I don't really have much time to think about it now though, as the Risen simply just keep advancing. I find myself deflecting attacks and using the Risen's momentum to deflect them towards the others, where they are easily picked off. Frederick moves like a demon through the pack, never showing a moment of hesitation or wasted energy as his spear flashes through Risen. Robin and Chrom stand tall together, magic and swords flashing quickly in tandem to help eachother, Lissa hopping in to heal when she's needed. However, these Risen don't seem to be completely mindless, as a small group have begun to congregate on me, driving me away from where the others are situated. I being to panic as I lose sight of the others. An arrow whizzes past my ear and I stumble from the shock, A Risen jumps towards me with a wild axe swing, and I instinctively raise my staff in defense.

CRACK

The staff is split clean in half by the axe, the blade catching the edge of my shoulder. The leather armour stops the majority, but I still feel a sharp bite of pain, jerking away quickly, holding both ends of the staff in my hands, I'm now very well aware of the fact, that I'm pretty much screwed.

"Chrom! Frederick! A little help here!" I call out, searching through the trees to try and see any possible help. There's a brief flash of red out of the corner of my eye, and as I turn another arrow whizzes past my ear, lodging itself into the skull of the Risen with the axe behind me. I could not be more relieved as the duo of Virion and Sully come into my sight. The fiery Cavalier immediately breaks past me into the fray, spearing two more Risen in her path as Virion lets another arrow fly at a nearby archer before it could shoot Sully.

"It seems luck favours you today, my fine fellow." He says as stops next to me. "If not for your call the fair Sully and I would have charged straight past your position." He has that same flippantly carefree smile you nearly always see on him.

"Well thanks for that, but unless you two have a spare weapon I won't be feeling much favoured." I reply, throwing the remains of my staff to the side. Sully rides up and looks me up and down, before reaching to the side of her horse and removing a spare bronze lance.

"Here, I'll be expecting this back." She says simply as she tosses it over. She turns as I catch it and gallops over to the fortress where I last saw the group camped out.

"If she's what you call fair, I'd hate to see what you didn't like." I say to Virion as I begin to jog after her. We make quick progress of the remaining Risen, Virion taking care of other archers while I deal with onwards threat. The lance is made of a much lighter wood than I'm used to, which makes my moves much faster, but the movements needed to pierce Risen is a lot different from what I'm used to. Staff combat does utilise thrusts, but it's not the main form of combat, so I have trouble getting the power behind the spear head as it sinks into each Risen, but I get used to it. With Sully and Virion's help I rejoin the group and we make quick work of the rest, Chrom taking the leader down easily. There's the usual talk with Marth, and I manage to keep my mouth shut so as not to give anything away. Virion and Sully go ahead of us to organise the camp for our arrival. As Frederick mounts his horse again and Robin begins to discuss the last battle with Chrom, I slip off to a corner and remove my cloak and armour. There's a small blood stain on the shoulder of my tunic, and I quickly remove it to inspect the damage. The armour seems to have done its work, and the cut is quite shallow. Now I just need to find something to put on it.

"Here, you can use this." I hear a small voice behind me. Turning around I find myself face to face with a blushing Lissa. She's holding a small pot of what I assume to be a healing salve, and I quickly take it, massaging a small dollop into the cut. There's an immediate cool feeling on my skin, and the sting is dulled in my shoulder. I hastily redress myself and give the pot back to Lissa, who has been pointedly staring in a different direction.

"Thanks." I say, slicking some loose hair out of my eyes.

"Well it's the least I could do." She said, a small smile on her face. "Hey um, I know I didn't say anything at the time but, er, thank you. You know, for saving my life."

"Oh, well, you know, don't worry about it. I'm sure anyone would have done the same." I reply, looking away modestly. I hear a small ruffle of clothing, and before I can turn around, her arms are wrapped around my shoulders in a tight hug. She pulls back after a few seconds and gives me another big smile before she heads off to rejoin the others. I take a few seconds to let my blush die down a little before I also join them. Keeping my mouth firmly shut, I fix my eyes on the road towards Ylisse. The sooner this day ends the better.

* * *

**AND there we have it, CHapter 2 finally done. Let me know what you guys think if anyone's actually read it. Black Falcon, out.**


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